One of the reasons for deafness is the failure of the bony chain, i.e., the hammer, the anvil and the stirrup to transmit the vibrations of the ear drum to the inner ear. Efforts have been made to repair the elements of the bony chain and to substitute components therefor. With the substitution of components, one difficulty encountered is the securing of such components in the desired position. One example of a solution is my prior copending application, Ser. No. 425,105, filed Dec. 17, 1973, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,909,852, which provides the structure with a biocompatible columella and a biocompatible porous pad secured to at least one of the ends of the columella. The present invention is an improvement thereon in that the biocompatible porous material may be used to form the columella and extend beyond each end to provide the ingrowth material for the securing of the implant in the desired position.
This offers an improved structure for the transmission of sound vibrations in the ear since the improved structure of the present invention has a continuity of material throughout its length.
During recent years many efforts have been made to provide a simple, reversible birth control method which did not have any possible side effects. The birth control pill has been used but with certain individuals the pill has undesirable side effects. A positive method of sterilization for women has been to cut and close the fallopian tubes. Such method is not reversible so that it should not be used if the woman may at a later date desire to have children.
Also, certain physiological processes, such as fracture healing, heart beat pacing, pain modulation, etc., can be controllably modified by passing electric current into a selected tissue of a living organism. A common means of passing electric current is to insert a noble metal electrode into the organism. Using such metal electrodes, it was found that the current density distribution to the selected tissue cannot be easily controlled.